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Summary: Most human transcription factors bind a small subset of potential genomic sites and often use different subsets in different cell types. To identify mechanisms that govern cell-type-specific transcription factor binding, we used an integrative approach to study estrogen receptor α (ER). We found that ER exhibits two distinct modes of binding. Shared sites, bound in multiple cell types, are characterized by high-affinity estrogen response elements (EREs), inaccessible chromatin, and a lack of DNA methylation, while cell-specific sites are characterized by a lack of EREs, co-occurrence with other transcription factors, and cell-type-specific chromatin accessibility and DNA methylation. These observations enabled accurate quantitative models of ER binding that suggest tethering of ER to one-third of cell-specific sites. The distinct properties of cell-specific binding were also observed with glucocorticoid receptor and for ER in primary mouse tissues, representing an elegant genomic encoding scheme for generating cell-type-specific gene regulation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) binds the human genome at >10,000 sites but only regulates the expression of hundreds of genes. To determine the functional effect of each site, we measured the glucocorticoid (GC) responsive activity of nearly all GR binding sites (GBSs) captured using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) in A549 cells. 13% of GBSs assayed had GC-induced activity. The responsive sites were defined by direct GR binding via a GC response element (GRE) and exclusively increased reporter-gene expression. Meanwhile, most GBSs lacked GC-induced reporter activity. The non-responsive sites had epigenetic features of steady-state enhancers and clustered around direct GBSs. Together, our data support a model in which clusters of GBSs observed with ChIP-seq reflect interactions between direct and tethered GBSs over tens of kilobases. We further show that those interactions can synergistically modulate the activity of direct GBSs and may therefore play a major role in driving gene activation in response to GCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite widespread clinical genetic testing, many individuals with suspected genetic conditions lack a precise diagnosis, limiting their opportunity to take advantage of state-of-the-art treatments. In some cases, testing reveals difficult-to-evaluate structural differences, candidate variants that do not fully explain the phenotype, single pathogenic variants in recessive disorders, or no variants in genes of interest. Thus, there is a need for better tools to identify a precise genetic diagnosis in individuals when conventional testing approaches have been exhausted. We performed targeted long-read sequencing (T-LRS) using adaptive sampling on the Oxford Nanopore platform on 40 individuals, 10 of whom lacked a complete molecular diagnosis. We computationally targeted up to 151 Mbp of sequence per individual and searched for pathogenic substitutions, structural variants, and methylation differences using a single data source. We detected all genomic aberrations-including single-nucleotide variants, copy number changes, repeat expansions, and methylation differences-identified by prior clinical testing. In 8/8 individuals with complex structural rearrangements, T-LRS enabled more precise resolution of the mutation, leading to changes in clinical management in one case. In ten individuals with suspected Mendelian conditions lacking a precise genetic diagnosis, T-LRS identified pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in six and variants of uncertain significance in two others. T-LRS accurately identifies pathogenic structural variants, resolves complex rearrangements, and identifies Mendelian variants not detected by other technologies. T-LRS represents an efficient and cost-effective strategy to evaluate high-priority genes and regions or complex clinical testing results., (Copyright © 2021 American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is a hormone-inducible transcription factor involved in metabolic and anti-inflammatory gene expression responses. To investigate what controls interactions between GR binding sites and their target genes, we used in situ Hi-C to generate high-resolution, genome-wide maps of chromatin interactions before and after glucocorticoid treatment. We found that GR binding to the genome typically does not cause new chromatin interactions to target genes but instead acts through chromatin interactions that already exist prior to hormone treatment. Both glucocorticoid-induced and glucocorticoid-repressed genes increased interactions with distal GR binding sites. In addition, while glucocorticoid-induced genes increased interactions with transcriptionally active chromosome compartments, glucocorticoid-repressed genes increased interactions with transcriptionally silent compartments. Lastly, while the architectural DNA-binding proteins CTCF and RAD21 were bound to most chromatin interactions, we found that glucocorticoid-responsive chromatin interactions were depleted for CTCF binding but enriched for RAD21. Together, these findings offer new insights into the mechanisms underlying GC-mediated gene activation and repression., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.)